What language do the Amish speak

1. What language do the Amish speak?

Kate Lebedeva, 1ma

2. bilingual

Pennsylvania Dutch
dinner table
preaching in church services
English
reading and writing
instruction in schools
interactions with non-Amish
business transactions
Standard German
read prayers and sing at church services

3.

4. Pennsylvania German (Pennsylvania Dutch)

some similarities with dialects
of German
includes numerous English words
Swiss Amish
• primarily found in Indiana

5.

6. not a written language

Dictionaries have been compiled.
Some books are written in the dialect.
When Amish write letters, they do it in
English, with some occasional use of
German possible.

7. Amish children learn English in school

Pennsylvania German is the
first language an Amish
child learns.
In Amish schools,
instruction is in English,
along with some classes in
High German.